Kirchhoff, Allison. "Weaving in the Story of Science." The Science Teacher March 2008: 33-37.
Summary:
Allison Kirchhoff describes how she uses stories to teach certain concepts in her science class. It guides students into a different way of thinking about science after finding out how certain ideas were originally discovered. The main idea that Kirchhoff discusses is that students transform into a community of active scientific thinkers. She uses stories in her classroom to link topics and weave from one lesson to the next. She will start a lesson with a story, for example, how Jenner discovered vaccines by inoculating cowpox to children and proving that their bodies were immune to the disease. She will then go on to have a class discussion about what her students think about his experiment, what surprised them, whether they agree with his procedure, etc. This technique both hooks the students and determines prior knowledge. They then go on to learn about vaccines and, after knowing how they were discovered, have a better grasp on the idea. They also understand that new discoveries happen every day and that science is not strictly out of a textbook, but it is happening in the world around them. She concludes with observations that she has noticed in her students after implementing this idea of incorporating stories in the science class. She has noticed an increase in enthusiasm in the topics, an overall curiosity that leads to a need for the students to learn the concepts and therefore, they develop a deeper understanding of the material.
Reaction:
I think that Allison Kirchhoff really brings about a great teaching technique that should be used in the classroom. There are some amazing stories about scientific discoveries that would definitely bring some depth to the material. Some parts of Biology are difficult to conduct a lab or hands on activity for and the idea of telling narratives and reading stories is a great dimension to a lesson. She also includes that stories help the students see contributions that women, minorities, and underrepresented citizens have made to science. This is key for students to realize that once you find a passion in something, you can truly make a difference. It also puts difficult concepts in a context that brings it down to the point at which it was discovered. For example, the idea of a vaccine is quite complex when you go deep into the ideas of the interactions of viruses, but the way in which it was discovered was a very black and white sort of science experiment that would never be done today. It brings science into the everyday life and also helps us make real world connections that will hopefully make an impact and encourage the students to care about the material.
Kirchhoff, Allison. "Weaving in the Story of Science." The Science Teacher March 2008: 33-37.Summary:
Allison Kirchhoff describes how she uses stories to teach certain concepts in her science class. It guides students into a different way of thinking about science after finding out how certain ideas were originally discovered. The main idea that Kirchhoff discusses is that students transform into a community of active scientific thinkers. She uses stories in her classroom to link topics and weave from one lesson to the next. She will start a lesson with a story, for example, how Jenner discovered vaccines by inoculating cowpox to children and proving that their bodies were immune to the disease. She will then go on to have a class discussion about what her students think about his experiment, what surprised them, whether they agree with his procedure, etc. This technique both hooks the students and determines prior knowledge. They then go on to learn about vaccines and, after knowing how they were discovered, have a better grasp on the idea. They also understand that new discoveries happen every day and that science is not strictly out of a textbook, but it is happening in the world around them. She concludes with observations that she has noticed in her students after implementing this idea of incorporating stories in the science class. She has noticed an increase in enthusiasm in the topics, an overall curiosity that leads to a need for the students to learn the concepts and therefore, they develop a deeper understanding of the material.Reaction:
I think that Allison Kirchhoff really brings about a great teaching technique that should be used in the classroom. There are some amazing stories about scientific discoveries that would definitely bring some depth to the material. Some parts of Biology are difficult to conduct a lab or hands on activity for and the idea of telling narratives and reading stories is a great dimension to a lesson. She also includes that stories help the students see contributions that women, minorities, and underrepresented citizens have made to science. This is key for students to realize that once you find a passion in something, you can truly make a difference. It also puts difficult concepts in a context that brings it down to the point at which it was discovered. For example, the idea of a vaccine is quite complex when you go deep into the ideas of the interactions of viruses, but the way in which it was discovered was a very black and white sort of science experiment that would never be done today. It brings science into the everyday life and also helps us make real world connections that will hopefully make an impact and encourage the students to care about the material.Beth M.